THE MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND FOLKLORE AND LANGUAGE ARCHIVE By Patricia Fulton Archivist www.mun.ca/folklore/munfla.htm The Memorial University of Newfoundland later in his career when he was invited to teach Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA) at Memorial University: is Canada's leading repository for recorded and collected items of Newfoundland and ...the people of Newfoundland Labrador folklore, folklife, language, oral have been settled in a comparatively history and popular culture. Founded in 1968, isolated area for a long period of time the Archive, under the direction of Herbert and have developed a unique cultural Halpert (b. Manhattan, 1911-d. St. John's, response to their environment. We 2000), began building on the course have in this province one of the last assignments and materials from fieldwork areas in the English-speaking world expeditions collected during his previous six where customs and practises [sic] years as a university faculty member. The survived long after they died out Archive has since amassed 600fonds, 40,000 elsewhere. The folklorist can still audio recordings, 800 video recordings, learn ftom people who observed these 16,000 manuscripts, 20,000 photographs, customs, how they were performed 1,500 printed documents, 500 oversized and what they meant.' documents, 4,000 commercial discs, 50 course collections, and numerous cultural artifacts Halpert, who had already done and other media. groundbreaking folklore fieldwork and scholarship in the United States, embarked on Described as Herbert Halpert's "crowning a series of summer expeditions with his fellow achievement,"' MUNFLA stands as testimony faculty member, the linguist John D.A. to the distinguished folklorist's singular vision Widdowson, and others. They travelled to and profound influence on students, faculty various parts of the island collecting and and archivists through the years. A visit to recording songs, tales, sayings and other forms pre-Confederation Newfoundland while of folklore. As folklore classes were serving in the U.S. military during World introduced at Memorial, Halpert encouraged War I1 spurred Halpert's interest in the area. his students to examine closely the context In 1987, he explained to Memorial's and function of folklore in the field (often in graduating class what he discovered then and their home communities) and in analytical assignments. These materials, which form the foundation of MUNFLA, are of great interest 'Michael Taft, "Herbert Halpert: Folklorist- Fieldworker (August 23,19 11, to December 29, 2000)," Folklife Center News, 23, no. 2 (Spring 'Herbert Halpert, "Convocation Address, 2001): 20-21. Saturday afternoon, 3 p.m., May 30, 1987," Gazette 19, no. 17 (June 10, 1987): 15. and importance to scholars, educators, bluegrass, rock and roll, blues and heavy heritage groups, the media, members of the metal. arts community, and private citizens. Thanks to Halpert's foresight and effort, a culture was The course-collection songs include documented that was swiftly changing with ballads (of murder, marine disaster, love lost the implementationofNewfoundland Premier and betrayed), lullabies, parodies, Joseph R. Smallwood's resettlement program occupational songs (lumbering, mining, and the advance of global communications. trapping, military, and sea shanties), hymns, Halpert himself stressed the fact that culture is carols, macaronic, alphabet, bawdy, humorous constantly changing. That, along with the and locally composed songs, children's game evolving discipline of folklore, has certainly songs, and school cheers. Folk festivals, affected the nature of the ethnographic "times" and other parties, dances, Christmas, materials deposited since Halpert's early days St. Patrick's Day and community concerts, in Newfoundland and Labrador. It will political demonstrations, weddings, strikes continue to do so. MUNFLA's mandate and many other performance contexts are ensures that at least these changes, once analysed as are musical traditions of church documented, will be preserved for future camps, university residences and groups such generations. as Brownie packs and Kinsmen clubs. The Archive also has several graduate-level thesis collections comprising field notes, taped A substantial portion of the collection interviews, textual and musical transcriptions, relates to song and music. There are 1,100 printed documents and photographs. assignments from courses in folk song, Newfoundland folklore, folklore and popular Among the hundreds of funds, there are a culture, special topics in folklore, introduction significant number relating to music and song. to folklore, and the traditional culture of The MacEdward Leach Fonds, donated in French Newfoundlanders. The subject matter 1970 by the estate of American folklorist is wide ranging and the focus in-depth. MacEdward Leach, comprises more than 100 Hundreds of manuscripts examine individuals audio tapes of field recordings from from all parts of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland, Labrador and Nova Scotia in who are recognized within their communities 1949-51 and 1960, textual and musical or families as musicians, composers, singers transcriptions, notes on singers and songs, or songwriters. Accompanying tape-recorded tape tables of contents, 89 photographic interviews often feature song and music negatives, printed documents, and photocopies performances and personal narratives. The of correspondence. studies usually present detailed biographical .information and community histories, and The Kenneth Peacock Fonds consists of many offer analyses of song and tune function, two series. The first is a set of copies of 150 composition, history and style, tapes of field recordings with accompanying performerlaudience roles, performance indexes made by musicologist Kenneth contexts, and repertoire. The assignments Peacock during trips to Newfoundland and explore musical genres such as traditional, Labrador in 1951-52 and 1958-61. His ethnic, religious, country and western, fieldwork was published in three volumes as Songs of the Newfoundland Outports. There Department of Folklore at the University. are 18 audio cassettes of French and Gaelic songs and instrumental music in the second Others fonds of interest are the the Lorne series. The materials were donated by the H. Russwurm Fonds, which includes Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies at photographs, 4,000 commercial long-play the Canadian Museum of Civilization. records of country, bluegrass and traditional music artists from Canada, the U.S., Great Field diaries, textual and musical Britain, Australia and New Zealand dating transcriptions, and correspondence by English from the 1920s-80s and textual materials folklorist Maude Karpeles during her folk including song folios and periodicals. The song collecting expeditions to Newfoundland Manual Prenner Fonds consists of a in 1929-30 comprise the Maude Karpeles scrapbook of newspaper clippings, articles, Fonds, donated by Ursula Vaughan Williams and photographs on the American folk song in 1978. Ninety of these songs were revival of the 1940s and 50s. published as Folk Songs From Newfoundland (London: Faber, 197 1). More than 12,500 audio recordings spanning a wide range of regional radio and The Elizabeth GreenleafFonds consists of television programs broadcast fiom the 1930s- field notes, textual and musical transcription, 90s comprise the Canadian Broadcasting - correspondence, book reviews, an unpublished Corporation Fonds. The musical series magazine article, and other materials from include Ryan 'S Fancy, All Around the Circle, Elizabeth Greenleaf's and Grace Yanow Wonderful Grand Band, A Few of the Best, Mansfield's folk song collecting trips to Going Solo, Weekend A. M., Red, Hot and Newfoundland in the 1920s. This song Blue, and Blues and Bluegrass. Videotapes, collection was published by Harvard film cores, notes, scripts and rundowns are University Press in 1933 as Ballads and Sea also on deposit. Songs of Newfoundland. Maritime historian Robert Madison of the Mystic Seaport The Halpert and Widdowsonfonds date Museum in Connecticut deposited the from the early 1960s, and are among materials in 1983. MUNFLA's earliest acquisitions. They include songs and music collected by The Kenneth S. Goldstein Fonds folklorists Herbert Halpert and John comprises over 300 audio recordings fiom Widdowson during field trips to collecting trips made throughout Newfoundland's Trinity Bay, Bonavista Bay Newfoundland and Labrador from 1978-90, and the Great Northern Peninsula. and assorted sound recordings used or created by Goldstein for teaching, research and public In 1990s, the holdings of the Centre lectures. It also contains photographic d'~tudeFranco-Terreneuviennes, collected by negatives, copies of pocket songsters, folklorist Gerald Thomas and others, were broadcast materials, a manuscript, and transferred to MUNFLA. Hundreds of audio correspondence. Publication of a finding aid tapes and manuscripts and a number of video to the 3,400 songs from the fonds is recordings and indexes comprise CEFT's rich forthcoming. Goldstein formerly headed the collection of cultural materials from the hcophone region of the province's west which are national and international in their coast. scope. Included are studies of Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton fiddlers, programmes Audio and visual materials related to the and recordings fiom Toronto's Mariposa Folk history of the performing arts in the Festival and the formerYugoslavia's Lake Newfoundland and